Monthly Archives: July 2016

DR Renee Rattray is a forthright, confident educator and nurturer who believes that everyone deserves an opportunity to fulfil their purpose and greatness within.

Born and raised in Red Hills, St Andrew, where she was known as ‘Mr Miller’s granddaughter’, Dr Rattray told

All Woman that her early life was filled with fun from attending church at Red Hills Baptist to school at Immaculate Conception High, where she was deeply involved in community service and leadership initiatives.

“Everything I have done has been about helping people to be better. From very young I have had great examples in my family and parents who have been helping people in the community or in their work. I’m driven by people and making their lives better.”

Dr Rattray shared that she would go on excursions with her parents every summer to learn about Jamaica, and also watch her mother care for people and help change their lives in her role as a probation officer, motivational speaker and social worker.

And so, with positive examples around, her course in life was charted, but it took one family member’s reality for her to truly realise her purpose.

“I had a cousin who lived with us and we had to go to Mico Care Centre to help to give him support. I saw how people helped him to improve, so I became interested in special education and decided to teach. I’ve always had some kind of inclination to lead and guide people. I’ve always known I could influence people, and that’s what teaching is,” she said.

After leaving sixth form, Dr Rattray told her father she would not pursue a career in law — much to his disapproval — and became a trained special education teacher at The Mico University College. She then did a degree in psychology at the University of the West Indies and went on to Columbia University to do a master’s in educational psychology, then pursued a doctorate in education from Nova Southeastern University.

Currently the head of learning and development with responsibility for education programmes at the Jamaica National Group, Dr Rattray has also served as one of the first inspectors with the National Education Inspectorate, project manager for PALS (Peace and Love in Schools), and principal of St Andrew Preparatory School — an experience she cherishes.

“At St Andrew Prep I was able to touch the lives of so many amazing little people with so much light and potential. I had fun and enjoyed everything about being there. I was mentored by the late Madge Broderick and she was an excellent administrator — very traditional in some ways, and a renaissance woman. She was a great person to introduce me to school leadership,” she said.

Having also been involved with the University Singers and Cathy Levy and Friends — experiences which taught her discipline, teamwork and the value of dreaming big — Dr Rattray exposed the children to similar pursuits.

“Even though we did stuff in the performing arts, she (Levy) taught us more than anything that it was really about discipline, teamwork, confidence, valuing yourself and dreaming,” she recalled.

“So I did a lot of work in the performing arts and the students got involved in everything possible, and I ensured it was a rounded place and a family environment.”

Since 2010, in her tenure at Jamaica National, Dr Rattray has managed to lead the Centres of Excellence programme — a school improvement initiative — and the iLead project which supports 10 schools in Region Two (St Thomas, St Mary and Portland) with technical capacity building and financial support to help them improve.

Also on the board of the Maxfield Park Children’s Home, Edufocal and the National College for Educational Leadership, Dr Rattray is passionate about fighting injustice and the lack of opportunity that some children have.

I get very angry when I hear that people have low expectations of our children and limit them or put them in a box and say that they’re not able to do what they can do. I’m intolerant of the system that doesn’t set our children up for success. I’m wanting to do everything in my power to make sure every child in Jamaica benefits from the best, because our potential is limitless and that’s a major passion of mine,” she said.

She’s also intolerant of belittlement and is big on empowering women.

“I remember Maya Angelou saying that she doesn’t allow people to be disrespectful of other people in her space. I’m learning and practising to do it to make sure that if it doesn’t come from a place of love, I don’t entertain it in my space,” she said.

Dr Rattray added: “I don’t have experiences with women where there is catfighting. We keep saying women don’t get along, but we need to stop saying that and fulfilling the prophecy. It’s something I don’t invite into my space and I believe there is power in that connection, and there is so much more we can do together than apart.”

A mother to a pair of twins, Dr Rattray loves London, Treasure Beach, Negril, Portland, and is inspired by her mother and Nelson Mandela because of his will to forgive. Her daily mantra is ‘I am enough’.

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More than 350 leaders from schools across Jamaica will be equipped with skills to raise stands at their institutions at a summit to be staged by the Jamaica National (JN) Foundation under its iLead Programme.

The event is scheduled for July 25 to 26 at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, New Kingston.

Director of Education Programmes at the JN Foundation, Dr. Renée Rattray, who was addressing a JIS Think Tank on July 19, explained that iLead is a school-improvement initiative that the JN Foundation has undertaken in 10 schools that are in need of support based on the National Education Inspectorate (NEI) report.

She informed that the summit, to be held under the theme ‘Innovate. Impact. Lead: Join the Education Revolution’, will target principals, vice-principals, board members, heads of Parent-Teacher Associations and other leaders.

The two-day event will kick off with an opening ceremony, with Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, expected to deliver remarks.

Noted education expert and award-winning teacher and principal from Philadelphia in the United States, Salome Thomas-EL, will give the main address on the topic: ‘Failure is Never an Option’.

Dr. Rattray informed that Mr. Thomas-El is a “turnaround principal,” who has transformed several schools.  A chess expert, he uses the strategic board game to reach children in the inner cities, she noted further.

Other overseas presenters include: Science Professor at Columbia University, Dr.  Christopher Emdin, who will present on the topic ‘When Innovation and Magic Collide in Education’.  Dr. Emdin uses hip-hop to teach science to teachers and students.

Instructional leadership specialists Pete Hall and Taj Jenson from Atlanta, Georgia, with provide lessons on how to manage teaching and learning.

The local presenters include Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dr. Maurice Smith, who will speak on the theme ‘Call to Action: Linking Central Office Practices to School Self-valuation and Improvement’.

‘Leading with the Big Picture in Mind’ will be the focus of the presentation by Leadership Consultant and Motivational speaker, Dr. Nsombi Jaja, while Leadership Consultant at Jamalysha Training Company, Jill Chambers will present on ‘Let the Revolution Begin: Bringing it all Together.’

There will also be panel discussions on the topics ‘Turnaround Leadership in Action’; ‘Innovate. Impact. Lead: Lessons for School Leaders’; and ‘Quick Wins: Bringing out Staff and Students’ Best’.

Educational Development Consultant and former Pro-Chancellor of the University of Technology (UTech), Dr. Blossom O’Mealley-Nelson will moderate a discussion session on the topic ‘Enter the Boardroom: Creating and Sustaining a Highly Effective School Board’.

“We are expecting to have robust exchanges and interactive sessions among participants and facilitators,” Dr. Rattray said.

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The JN Foundation is recruiting revolutionaries… education revolutionaries, that is.

Dr. Renee Rattray, Director of Education Programmes at JN Foundation is not only passionate about education. She also has a clear vision of what is needed. Essentially, this is: We need to do things differently. We cannot keep doing the same thing over and over and getting the same poor results. And we need to act urgently! We owe it to generations of young Jamaicans, don’t we?

I firmly believe the education system is failing our young people. We cannot keep pushing them through a production line, coming out the other end still struggling with literacy and numeracy issues, still lacking in self esteem and life skills. Every child has potential for something – not necessarily an academic genius, but that spark of creativity and imagination that makes each child unique. A truly “wholistic” education can bring this out. I personally was fortunate enough to have benefited from such an education through the Froebel philosophy. Educator Friedrich Froebel said (and perhaps this is what we are searching for):

“Protect the new generation: do not let them grow up into emptiness and nothingness, to the avoidance of good hard work, to introspection and analyzation without deeds, or to mechanical actions without thought and consideration. Guide the young away from the harmful chase after outer things and the damaging passion for distraction.”

One of the presenters at the School Leadership Summit next week is Dr. Christopher Emdin of Columbia University, a science advocate and founder of the #HipHopEd social media movement. He’s an innovator (clearly); you can look up his TED Talks on blending hip hop with education to reach our young people. It is hoped that a similar approach may be taken with dancehall. Yes! That’s revolutionary!

Then there is Salome Thomas-EL, an award-winning teacher and principal, currently the Head of School at Thomas Edison Charter School in Wilmington, Delaware. “Every child needs someone to be crazy about them,” he says. Throughout his teaching career he has helped children to overcome the barriers of poverty, violence and simply being ignored to achieve their dreams through learning and through their lives beyond school. He is passionate and caring. Revolutionaries are passionate!

Pete Hall sounds like a fantastic team-builder, trainer and coach, with a total of 19 years’ experience in teaching (12 as a principal). He is someone with energy, who can motivate teachers. Revolutionaries need motivation and encouragement at all times, don’t they?

The Summit is  not going to be a lot of speeches and nothing else, though. Each session will be highly interactive, with participants coming away with practical strategies and plans that they have worked out over the two days with other education leaders that they have networked with. Why did the JN Foundation choose the concept of a “revolution”? I hope it is clear that they are seeking to energize people into action, into the implementation of new ideas. Passion leading to action! That’s what revolutionaries do!

Three amazing Jamaican women will be pivotal to the event: Kasan Troupe, Principal of Denbigh High School; Dr. Renee Rattray of JN Foundation; and Nsombi Jaja, quality management consultant. They are all vibrant speakers and motivators, and if you have not met them before…Well, educational leaders, principals, student leaders…you should! Just get on board and absorb that collective energy!

Oh, by the way – Happy Nelson Mandela Day! And let us remember these words from the former president of South Africa and 1993 Nobel Peace Prize laureate:

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

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THE Jamaica National Business Foundation hopes to continue its thrust to revolutionise the education sector when it hosts a School Leadership Summit on July 25 and 26.

“What we are trying to do is establish a movement of change. We’ve been involved already in leadership in a really big way through Jamaica National in terms of the projects that we have done, the Centres of Excellence and the iLead Programme, and our focus has been energising, empowering, equipping leaders to truly transform the education system and their schools and to effect meaningful change,” Dr Renee Rattray, director of education programmes at JN Foundation, told journalists at yesterday’s

Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange at the newspaper’s head office in Kingston.

Expressing confidence that the summit will energise participants, Dr Rattray said the event is targeting all leaders in education, including school board members, principals, vice-principals, senior teachers, middle managers, student leaders, and Ministry of Education officials.

She said the summit is aimed at introducing and educating participants on innovative practices in the sector worldwide.

“We’re really keen on bringing school leaders together to share best practices. We’re going to have many panel discussions with leaders who are actually in the field and who have turned their schools around, as well as with leaders who are veterans and are doing really exciting things,” she explained.

“We have a panel discussion with young innovators who are going to be telling school leaders the kind of environment they need in order to have students thrive and become entrepreneurs and innovators like they are,” Dr Rattray continued.

She noted that there will also be ground-breaking initiatives that will excite participants in training.

“We have two really great international speakers, one of them is Dr Christopher Emdin, who is from Columbia [University] and his research has surrounded using hip-hop to teach science. He’s a science professor and he has a project called Science Genius and it’s a competition that we’re actually going to be partnering on… a competition where the students are going to be using dancehall to teach science, to come up with science concepts and having a really great battle and kind of like a clash around science,” Dr Rattray said.

Participants will also benefit from presentations from several local and international speakers during the two-day event, which will be themed ‘Join the Education Revolution: Innovate, Impact, Lead’. The summit will also feature principals who have turned their schools around, such as Salome Thomas-El, head of school at the Thomas Edison Charter School in Delaware in the US, who will be the keynote speaker on the opening day of the summit.

An award-winning teacher and principal, Thomas-El, has had a track record of assisting challenging young people in the US to achieve success through chess. An acclaimed chess coach, he assisted students at Vaux Middle School in the US to be recognised as eight-time National Chess Champions.

Dr Rattray, as well as Kasan Troupe, principal of Denbigh High School — recognised by the National Education Inspectorate as the most improved secondary school in Jamaica — and Dr Nsombi Jaja, management consultant and change leader, will be the local presenters at the summit.

Dr Rattray said R Danny Williams, who has been instrumental in helping to shape Jamaica College, and other chairmen, are slated to participate with a focus on school boards.

“We believe that with governance the buck really stops at the top, and the school board sets the tone on how things are managed and how operations have been in the school. So we want to shed some light on that issue to bring it to the fore, to have persons who are interested in becoming members of boards, or who are presently serving on boards, to help them to understand the importance of their roles and to help to give them insight as to how they can improve on what they do,” Dr Rattray reasoned.

She encouraged school leaders to register.

“We believe that the time for change is now, and we can’t continue to do the same things in the same ways because it hasn’t been getting us far enough,” she said.

The summit is slated to be held at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

School leaders and school board members who plan to register for the event may visit

www.www.jnfoundation.com and clicking the link, ‘register here’, to complete the online registration form. They may also call 926-1344, extension 5164, to register.

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Marlon Brown was caught in a traffic build-up on the Llandovery main road, St Ann, as he headed for work in a taxi on March 1 this year. His first concern was about how the delay would affect his commute to St Ann’s Bay.

A firefighter based at the St Ann’s Bay station, Brown was on his way to drop his daughter off at a day care centre before reporting for the 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. shift.

“I called out to persons to establish reasons for the blockade. Finally, one guy shouted back ‘a just two truck crash up the road, and one man stuck’,” he recalled.

Once he realised that a crash had occurred, Brown’s First Responder training kicked in and he went into action. “Immediately my training chipped in and I called the fire station and told them to dispatch the unit as there was an accident”, he explained.

Brown was one of 15 volunteers in St Ann who had benefited from training in Emergency Medical Response (EMR) last year, as part of the First Responders programme of the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) Foundation.

The programme equipped residents living in communities surrounding the St Ann leg of the north coast Highway with the skills to provide effective emergency medical care at the scene of road crashes. The main objective is to reduce loss of life, lessen pain and suffering and promote the optimal recovery of victims.

Brown acknowledged that while fire fighters receive basic first aid and CPR training as a part of their job, “the training provided in the First Responder programme was more in-depth and specific to motor vehicle crashes and medical emergencies.”

Brown cautiously left his daughter with a fellow passenger and headed for the crash scene. Upon arrival he observed that two trucks had collided head-on and three persons were trapped in the vehicles, while one person was on the roadway.

“One person was unconscious. He wasn’t responding to anything, neither sound nor touch,” Brown said, “Just the fact that I seemed to know what I was doing, the people gathered and allowed me to take charge of the scene.”

His training now fully engaged, Brown assessed the scene and delegated responsibilities to persons in order to help. “I later recognised that an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) was on the scene and, although he was a trained EMT, he allowed me to manage the scene,” he said.

“One man had an injury to his head and I didn’t have anything to help with his wound. I got the cleanest thing I could find, which was a towel, and applied pressure to the wound before moving on to another victim who was aware, but was in initial shock,” he explained.

Quick action
Due to Brown’s quick action the scene was secured by the time the police and fire service arrived and the lives of two of the victims in the crash were saved. “In the end I gave the best I could provide, which was to help to save two lives,” Brown added.

Tyrone Llewellyn, district officer with the Jamaica Fire Brigade, who responded to the crash, commended Brown for his actions that made the job of the emergency response teams much easier, due to his organisation of the scene. “When I arrived he provided information about the casualties, who were present, those who were sent to the hospital, the severity of their injuries and the damage to the vehicles,” Llewellyn said.

Llewellyn also noted that Brown’s post-crash care activities were effective in preventing further injuries to the victims. “That assisted us, because in cases such as this one patient handling is important to ensure that we prevent further injury. What he did on the scene made our job easier in terms of knowing what we had to do,” the district officer stated.

The First Responders project is part of the JN Foundation’s Road Safety programme, in partnership with St. John Ambulance, the FIA Road Safety Grant Programme and the Jamaica Automobile Association (JAA). It is designed to improve the behaviour of road users and enhance post-crash care, two of the pillars established under the United Nation’s Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011 2020 as a framework for improving global road safety.

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